VANCOUVER, British Columbia—Ms. Manlu, a former pianist with China’s Central Philharmonic Orchestra (the predecessor of China’s National Symphony Orchestra), watched—and was highly impressed by—the Shen Yun Performing Arts finale at Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Vancouver on Wednesday.
During the intermission, Ms. Manlu commented on the show, put on by a group of New York-based artists working to bring about a renaissance of China’s traditional culture through Chinese classical dance and music.
“I think today’s performance represents the essence of our Chinese culture. It is also very creative. All Shen Yun performances and music are original—this is very precious. The arrangement of the programs is also very good. It is very artistic. The music has the characteristics of China. There is also Chinese classical dance, and the orchestra is composed of both Chinese and Western instruments. The quality of it all is very high.”
Ms. Manlu told The Epoch Times that Chen Rutang, a conductor of the Shen Yun orchestra, was her colleague in China. Mr. Chen served as manager of China’s Central Philharmonic Orchestra and was a cellist in the orchestra for three decades before he moved to the United States.
The Shen Yun orchestra is unique in that it combines Western and Chinese instruments—something Ms. Manlu said is not easy to do. She was also fascinated by the groundbreaking animated backdrops that interact with what’s happening onstage.
“I am so touched to see a production outside of China done by Chinese to have reached such an achievement. I am deeply touched. The music and the dance matched flawlessly. The conductor had all the music scores memorized—that’s why they coordinated so well. Because the performance, the dance, and the music are all live, every time the effect varies depending on the state of the performers. The live orchestra is very good.”
With reporting by NTDTV
The Shen Yun Performing Arts 2009 World Tour is expected to reach a live audience of 800,000. After Vancouver, the show will play in Calgary on April 12 and April 13, Edmonton on April 15 and April 16, and in Regina on April 19.
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of the Shen Yun Performing Arts 2009 World Tour. For more information please visit ShenYunPerformingArts.org
